1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to gas turbine engines and, more particularly, to damping mechanisms for reducing vibratory stress levels in rotating blades of such engines. More particularly, the present invention relates to a damping mechanism which is mounted in a statically determinant fashion to insure a full damping load is transmitted to the blade platform. The damper is located in a region of the blade which experiences the highest platform vibratory amplitude, this vibratory amplitude being produced as a result of the centrifugal forces produced during the rotation of the blade. As a result of the statically determinant fashion by which the damper is mounted, the high vibratory amplitude experienced by the blade platform is reacted by the fan disk to which the damper is connected via a retainer mechanism.